In the bed that Kotonoha and Ryuji were sharing, the girl looked over at her sleeping boyfriend. She really couldn't believe it, really, but it was real. He was her boyfriend and she loved him.
Her first boyfriend had been Makoto Itou who'd been an unfaithful bastard. A part of her would always care for him but now she and he were no more than friends. It was still awkward just talking to him without Sekai or Ryuji around. She knew if Ryuji ever saw her with Makoto he would just assume the worst and attack Makoto but she knew he would stop at her request.
Her second and present boyfriend…well, he was a strange one. He wasn't from around here. In fact, he hadn't even been born on this world. He was actually from an alternate timeline where superhuman heroes and villains would battle in the endless war between good and evil. From what she knew, he'd been on the evil side but had sought redemption with help from his brother.
He was strange, but special to her. He also treated her better than Makoto ever had. He would never force himself on her, he would listen to what she had to say, he would give her all his attention and he would not ever cheat on her.
She'd discovered from reliable sources that each member of the Hasuma clan actually imprinted upon someone that they'd chosen to be their mate. Such implications brought a blush to Kotonoha's cheeks but it was welcomed. That would mean that he would always be hers and no one else's and that he would love her and her alone.
She knew he loved her. He'd told her and showed her many times. They'd made love passionately and she knew he wanted to be close to her and be with one with her, their bodies joined as they loved each other physically. Sometimes she just got weak to the knees thinking about it.
Last spring break she'd gotten drunk and spilled the beans about her and Ryuji's intimate physical relationship. It'd been so embarrassing when she was asked to tell them how he performed in bed while she and the girls had a slumber party.
Ryuji's reputation was still bad, especially after he'd beaten Taisuke up for a small matter of a cake. Well, it'd been special and made for her. He'd worked hard to make it for her. Luckily, she had been able to have some of that cake, a new one, during the housewarming party when Ryuji moved in to her home. It had been a private affair but still special. The cake had been wonderful.
This boy, she knew, was her soul mate. She was the one she was destined to be with. Despite the fact that he didn't believe in neither the idea of soul mates or fate, she still held onto that belief. How else could she explain seeing him in different periods of the past and being saved by her 'Knight in Shining Armor'?
Under her bed was shoebox with childhood mementos with one of them being a drawing of Ifrit that she'd drawn when she had been little. That had been when Ifrit had to go into the past to go after an Imagin.
Back then, at age 5, she'd gone to the playground with her mother to play when all of a sudden a strange monster that looked like a bull attacked. She screamed in fright as the monster went to attack her. She then felt someone carry her to safety and she'd gazed upon his armoured visage. As soon as she'd returned home, she'd drawn a picture of him.
She'd blushed when she went to look back at the picture and saw a pink heart drawn around the crudely drawn Ifrit. Her first crush had been on her present boyfriend.
There had been many instances aside from that where Ifrit had saved her in the past, but those were other stories.
She kissed his cheek and whispered, "I love you, Watashi No Senshi," before she went back to sleep and snuggled against him.
"THE MYSTERIOUS DEN-ZERO DUO"
The day was fine in the world which we would think of only as an anime. A world which we would only assume would exist inside another person's mind or inside of a television set from Japan. The sun was shining and there were people simply enjoying their day. It seemed like it would be just a regular day.
Inside a café, a certain pair of lovers was enjoying a date. They were sharing an ice cream sundae together and were taking turns feeding each other. The girl was wearing a simple blouse and red skirt combination. She had long dark hair and a somewhat generous bust in which her boyfriend loved along with everything else about her. She had a soft smile on her face and the look of true love in her eyes.
The boy sitting across from her couldn't look more like a polar opposite. He had long and wild black hair that went down his back and was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans with a black leather bomber jacket. The aura he gave off was one that just screamed of 'punk' and those who didn't know him as intimately as his girlfriend did would think of him as scary.
These were Kotonoha Katsura and Ryuji Hasuma.
"Yum!" Kotonoha smiled as Ryuji fed her a spoonful of ice cream.
"I can think of a way to make this ice cream better," Ryuji smirked as he admired the smile on Kotonoha's face.
"Oh?" Kotonoha smiled, knowing that there was an ecchi thought in her boyfriend's mind just by seeing the way he looked at her. She didn't mind. His ecchi thoughts were usually very flattering. "And what way would that be?"
Smirking, Ryuji leaned over so he could whisper in her ear, "Maybe if I lick it off of your nude body."
"You're insatiable, Ryuji-kun!" Kotonoha giggled with a flush on her face as she swatted her boyfriend's shoulder.
"Well, you made me this way," Ryuji grinned. "Showering me with affection and loving me like you do. How am I supposed to react?"
"Oh, so I made you this way?" Kotonoha smiled. "Feeling me up every chance you get?"
"Seems that way to me," Ryuji shrugged teasingly. "Are you going to take responsibility?"
"I suppose I must," Kotonoha sighed dramatically. "I'll just have to follow through with all those horrible perverted ideas you have about me."
"That's my Tenshi-chan," Ryuji smiled. "Always ready to step up to the plate."
Before Ryuji could continue flirting and hopefully score a homerun, his watch started beeping. Cursing softly lest his girlfriend could hear, he looked to it. A compass function had activated and was pointing in a single direction. Looking up, Kotonoha was already shooing her boyfriend away.
"You don't have to wait for me, Ryuji-kun," she spoke. "People are going to need you there."
"Right," Ryuji nodded as he got up. "Gomen, Koto-chan."
"You can make it up to me later," Kotonoha replied. "Now go."
Nodding, Ryuji exited the cafe and mounted his bike. He put on his helmet and secured it before dashing to the direction where his watch had been pointing. He swerved through streets and alleys as he went for the source of the disturbance his watch was pointing him to. As he got closer, he heard a loud explosion rip through the air.
"Looks like they're beginning without me," Ryuji frowned as he picked up the pace.
Dashing out through an alley, he looked for the Imagin that were responsible for the attack. As he stopped his bike and took of his helmet, his eyes quickly landed on a large cloud of dust which was keeping him from seeing anything. Knowing this was the source, he began to dismount from his back and reach for something behind his back.
"Yeeeaaarrgh!" two voices cried in pain.
"Huh?" Ryuji blinked.
Two shapes were suddenly thrown from the cloud and they rolled across the asphalt. Both of the figures didn't look human in the slightest. They both looked like red and black humanoid spiders with a web crest across their shoulders. Their mouths were filled with jagged teeth and they had several unblinking eyes which were clouded from pain.
"Dammit!" Spider Imagin-1 growled. "Who would have thought we would run into them?
"I thought we'd have to deal with some little Rider!" Spider Imagin-2 coughed.
"Little Rider?" Ryuji growled.
"Heh, you guys sure are weak," a gruff voice called from the dust. "I don't even need to reach my climax!"
"I guess regular Imagin just can't compete with us, Momo-nii," a second voice called.
Two figures walked out of the dust and Ryuji's eyes widened as his mouth dropped open.
Both were donned in black bodysuits, but that was where the similarities ended. The figure on the left had a red chestplate with a belt that was donned with a red insignia and four colored buttons. He wore a white helmet with a pair of large red eyes acting as a visor. A black sword with a red blade was leaning on his shoulder as he walked forward.
The second figure had a black, green, and yellow decorated belt on his waist. His chest armour was green with yellow tracks running down the shoulders before combining into one track down his chest. His helmet was black with yellow tracks running over the face. The visor was a pair of green eye-pieces with gray horns in them. He had a large sword in his hand as he walked next to his companion.
One thing Ryuji knew for sure was that these guys were Riders!
The red one shouted, "Ikuze, ikuze, ikuze!" and went to attack the first Spider Imagin while his comrade, the green Rider, attacked the second one.
The red Rider slashed at Spider Imagin-1 who rolled to the side and then flipped back to its feet. It tried to land a strike on the red Rider who spun at his heels before slashing the Imagin across the back. The Imagin whirled around in anger and pain and received a brutal kick in the gut.
The green Rider was not even letting the second Spider Imagin get up and was swinging his sword down upon it mercilessly. He only stopped when he got a face full of webbing courtesy of the Spider Imagin-2. It then got back to its feet and slashed at the green Rider with his claws.
Narrowing his eyes, Ryuji decided to intervene. This was his turf and he was not about to let two newbies get in his way. He summoned his belt and slung it around his waist before pressing the transformation button. Then he slid in the pass. "Henshin!"
"IFRIT FORM!" His black and blue armor formed and finally his grilled visor slid over his helmet. The armor was mainly black and blue with plating along the arms and legs, with boots, gauntlets and a chestplate. The slits of his visor flashes once the change was complete.
"RAAAAAAAAAARGHHH!" Ifrit roared as he entered the battle. His appearance caught the attention of the two Spider Imagin and the Riders with them.
"Nani?" the red Rider uttered.
"Huh?" the green Rider let out.
Ifrit summoned his weapons which took on the form of shotguns. Taking aim, he opened fire on the twin Spider Imagin without mercy.
"Woah!" the red Rider cried as he ducked out of the way.
"Watch it!" the green Rider added as he dodged the bullets.
"This is my turf so you'd better watch it!" Ifrit growled as he ran past the pair.
The two Spider Imagin were knocked back from the blasts, but they weren't dead yet. Clicking their mandibles, they started shooting wads of webbing at the native Rider. Ifrit tried shooting again, but wads of webbing blocked the barrels before more wads got his hands.
"Kuso!" Ifrit growled as he attempted to get the webbing off.
"Yeah, that was real impressive kid," the green Rider sighed. Separating the blade from its handle, he switched the handle around and joined the weapon back together. The blade then opened up to become a crossbow which the green Rider took aim with.
He fired off several rounds and hit the two Imagin in their midsections, forcing them back. They weren't able to get their wind back to fire more webbing.
"Now we're getting at a climax!" the red Rider laughed as he charged at the pair.
"Hey!" Ifrit snapped as he kept ripping the webbing away. "I just told you're they're mine!"
"First come, first serve!" the red Rider shouted back before he dove into battle.
"Momo-nii is going to kill Pop one of these days," the green Rider sighed before he charged after his ally.
"Rrrr!" Ifrit growled before the last of the webbing came off his hands. Gripping his weapons, he engulfed them in blue flames which morphed the guns into his twin Ifrit Dao.
"Outta my way!" he roared as he dashed towards the fight.
He charged at the red Rider and leaped at the Spider Imagin. As he came down, he wrapped his arms around its neck and tackled it to the ground. With it stunned, Ifrit began slashing at it without mercy, creating a rain of sparks.
"Oi! Stop interrupting!" the red Rider shouted before he gripped Ifrit by the shoulder and pulled him back. The Spider Imagin began to recover before the red Rider kicked it in the side, making it roll away.
"I said this one's mine!" Ifrit shouted as he charged again.
Elbowing the Imagin in the face, the red Rider turned to face his fellow Rider, "Would you just back off and let me fight, gaki? I'm trying to enjoy myself!"
"This is my turf!" Ifrit argued before he turned one of his swords into a gun and shot the Imagin, knocking it onto his back. The gun then turned back into a sword. "I'm the one who deals with Imagin!"
"Well we got here first!" the red Rider retorted.
"URUSEI! FUCK OFF!" Ifrit roared as he kicked the red Rider in the chest sending him stumbling backwards. He turned his attention back towards the two Spider Imagin. "GenJyu Ifrit-Ken! Gengi!" He raised his swords above his head and then swung them downward to send out twin energy blades. "JIGOKU GIRI!"
The sword attack cut into the two Spider Imagin and sent them flying a fair distance away. The red Rider rubbed his chest and glared at his fellow Rider. He was quickly getting steamed at the hot tempered Ifrit.
"Oi!" the red Rider snapped. "What the hell was that for?"
"You're in my way!" Ifrit shouted. "I said…IT'S MY TURF!"
"Like I give a damn!" the red Rider sorted. He spotted both Spider Imagin getting back up again. Acting quickly, he gripped a Rider Pass and swiped it over his buckle.
"FULL CHARGE!"
"Time for you to see my Hissatsu attack!" the red Rider called before the blade of his sword shot into the air. "Part 2!"
Thrusting his grip on his blade, the red Rider slashed at the Spider Imagin. The blade followed and slashed the Spider Imagin. The blade cut through from the left shoulder to its right hip. The red Rider then did the same from the right shoulder to the left hip. Finally, in a single motion, the red Rider brought the blade down and cut the Spider Imagin right down the middle. In a cry of pain, the Imagin exploded.
"Kuso!" Ifrit cried as he watched his pay check explode. So much for getting paid for this Imagin.
"FULL CHARGE!"
"Eh?" Ifrit blinked as he turned to see the green Rider.
The green Imagin pulled what looked like a card out of his belt and punched it into his weapon, allowing green energy streams to surge into his crossbow. The Spider Imagin roared a challenge before charging at the green Rider.
"Hah!" the green Rider cried as he pulled the trigger.
A large green 'A' fired from the crossbow and flew towards the Imagin. Said Imagin couldn't move in time and was hit directly in the chest. A large green 'A' was imprinted on its chest before it fell backwards and exploded.
"KUSO!" Ifrit raged, seeing his second pay check go up in smoke.
"Jeez. What's got you all upset?" the green Rider sighed as he holstered his weapon. "So you're left out of the fighting. Big deal."
"Hey, I don't need a pair of newbies horning in on my turf!" Ifrit growled while pointing at the green Rider.
"Newbies?" cried the red Rider. "I am no newbie! I've been doing this for months!"
"Oh yeah?" Ifrit snorted. "Then how come I've never heard of you guys before?"
"The reason is because we come from a different timeline," the green Rider answered. "We're here because we needed a break."
"Well, you're in the wrong place for one," Ifrit snorted. "Now shove off!"
"Hnn, after Fang-boy this IS a vacation," the red Rider snorted.
"Don't care," Ifrit growled. "I said shove off!"
"What if I don't feel like it?" the red Rider growled.
"Then…" Ifrit began.
"Ryuji-kun!" a female voice cried.
All three Riders turned to the source of the voice and saw a girl their age running towards the battle. Ifrit froze in the spot while the red Rider looked at her in confusion. The green Rider likewise froze at the sight of her.
"Koto-chan!" Ifrit cried as he stepped forward. "What have I told you about coming to the fights?"
"But I was worried," Kotonoha answered. "And you weren't fighting anymore. You were just arguing with these other Riders."
"I'm gonna kick his ass if he keeps getting in my face," the red Rider growled.
"Relax, Momo-nii," the green Rider sighed. Stepping forward, he spoke to Kotonoha. "Um…excuse me miss, but…you don't happen to be Kotonoha Katsura are you?"
"Why yes I am," Kotonoha nodded. "Do I know you?"
"Um…no," the green Rider denied. "I've actually heard a lot about you though."
Ifrit's eyes narrowed as he pulled Kotonoha possessively against him. "Get your own girlfriend. She's mine."
Now the green Rider was shocked. Back in his own timeline he'd played a visual novel game called School Days so it was a surprise for him to see the girl in person and in real life.
"Ryuji-kun," Kotonoha sighed while blushing as he claimed her as his own. It was nice to feel loved like this even if Ryuji was a little possessive and prone to jealous fits. At least he knew when to control it. "He was just getting to know me. Don't get angry."
Ifrit's expression softened under his helmet as calmed down. "Fine, Koto-chan." He then asked the two Riders, "So, who are you two supposed to be?"
"Den-O," the red Rider answered. "Kamen Rider Den-O."
"You can call me Kamen Rider Zeronos," the green Rider introduced.
"Den-O?" asked Ifrit. He remembered that name after his first fight in this timeline when he returned as Ifrit. How could he be mistaken for this guy though? "I've heard that name before."
"Heh, course you did," Den-O SF nodded. "I'm just that cool."
"Momo-nii," Zeronos AF warned.
"Oh, yeah?" Ifrit snorted. "Why don't you just go-."
"Ryuji-kun!" Kotonoha admonished. She turned to the two Riders and bowed respectfully. "It's nice to meet both of you. Um…can I offer a more private place to talk?"
"Uh…y-yeah," Zeronos AF nodded. He grabbed his belt and removed it.
"Whatever," Den-O SF grunted before he removed his own belt.
"Sure, Koto-chan," Ifrit nodded before he undid his own belt.
The suits of the three Riders vanished in a haze of colored shards. Once the shards cleared, Ryuji took notice of the two young men who were wearing the armor of Kamen Riders. To his surprise, he recognized one of them.
"Huh?" Ryuji blinked. "Saotome? Ranma Saotome?"
"Yeah?" asked Ranma. "Do I know you personally or did my Pop steal from you?"
"Do you know him, Ryuji-kun?" asked Kotonoha curiously.
"Well…I know a version of him," Ryuji answered. "There's a Ranma Saotome in my old timeline. He was an okay guy, but I don't know this one."
"You mean there's more than one of me?" Ranma asked in confusion.
"Jeez, Pop. Didn't figure that out by now?" the other young man asked with a sigh. "Mom wasn't kidding when she said you were dense."
"And just who are you?" asked Ryuji suspiciously.
"Name's Tenma Saotome," the new boy answered. "It's a pleasure."
"Anyway, maybe we should take someplace more private," suggested Kotonoha.
"Later, Koto-chan," said Ryuji as he glared at the two Saotomes in front of him. "You two owe me."
"We don't owe you nothing!" Ranma shot back.
"Yes you do! You both took away my next pay check!"
"Pay check?" both Tenma and Ranma echoed.
Kotonoha explained, "It's a deal he made with the owner of the ChronoLiner, Ant-san. Ryuji-kun gets paid for each Imagin he kills."
"Damn right!" nodded Ryuji.
"You mean I could be getting paid for doing what I do?" asked Ranma with an incredulous look on his face. "Man, Nabiki won't leave me alone if she finds out about that."
"Then don't tell her," Tenma answered. "Usually Riders don't get paid for their work. Frankly, they shouldn't have to be. Fighting Imagin is a noble calling and saving lives shouldn't need monetary payment."
"Yeah, well," Ryuji sighed. "It's kind of necessary when you're trying to get situated in a new timeline. Now are we going to go or not?"
"Yeah, yeah," Ranma sighed. "Lead the way."
The journey to Kotonoha's home was a quiet one. Ryuji didn't feel like talking to the two 'intruders' and Kotonoha was there to make sure no fights broke out. She knew her boyfriend to be a little territorial and possessive of things, mainly her and his job.
When Ryuji opened the door, they were greeted by Loki, "Okaeri nasai, Ryuji!" Loki waved pleasantly.
Ryuji sighed, "Tadaima."
Kotonoha explained, "Loki is Ryuji-kun's Imagin partner."
"I guessed," Ranma nodded. "He reminds me of someone though."
As Tenma stepped inside, sand spilled out from his body before it reformed into an Imagin. This was the black-clad and steel handed form of Tenma's Imagin partner, Deneb.
"Hello!" the friendly Imagin greeted the occupants of the room. "My name is Deneb. I hope that we can all become good friends in the future." He then reached behind his back and pulled out a small basked of candy. "Would anyone like some candy? I made it myself."
"I would!" Loki smiled as he picked up a lollipop. "In repayment, I would like for you to have one of my homemade cookies."
Reaching behind his own back, Loki revealed a plate of cookies. Holding them out, it was determined that there were cartoon versions of his face on the plate.
"Ohh! I'd love one!" Deneb cheered as he took one. "Let us be good friends."
"Yes, lets!" Loki smiled.
"Dear, Kami-sama," Ryuji groaned. "Not two of them."
"I hear you," Tenma agreed.
Kotonoha smiled brightly at the exchange between the two Imagin. Things were going along smoothly so far. Deneb and Loki were trading cooking tips for sweets. Still, Ranma and Tenma were sitting next to each other and across from Kotonoha and Ryuji.
"So why are you guys here?" Ryuji asked bluntly.
"Told you," Tenma answered. "We're on a bit of a vacation. We just finished dealing with a real jerk called Gaoh. He wanted to wipe out all time and we had to stop him."
"When we did, the Owner of the DenLiner said we earned a vacation," Ranma continued. "He gave us a ticket and we ended up here."
"Hnn," Ryuji frowned. Okay, after hearing something like that, he supposed a vacation was in order. After he kicked Nanimo's ass, he would ask for a vacation for himself too.
"So…Ranma-san, do you have an Imagin partner too?" asked Kotonoha politely.
"Yeah. Four of them," Ranma grinned. "Momotaros, Urataros, Kintaros, and Ryutaros."
As if on cue, sand poured out of Ranma's clothes and reformed into four Imagin. Each one was colored red, blue, yellow, or purple.
"Ore sanjou!" the red ogre Imagin announced.
"Mind if I string you along?" asked the blue turtle Imagin.
"My strength will make you cry!" the yellow bear Imagin called.
"Mind if I have some cookies now?" asked the purple dragon Imagin. "I don't hear an answer!"
"FOUR Imagin?" Ryuji looked towards Ranma in amazement. "I can barely manage one. How do you do it?"
"A LOT of patience," Ranma said. "So, anyway, you said you get paid for killing Imagin. How come I don't?"
"Well, I'm a special case. Like I said I'm not exactly from this timeline and the cost of living alone is pretty high. Plus, I need to pay for my own school tuition," Ryuji explained.
"So why not get a part time job?" asked Tenma. He still couldn't believe someone would get paid for being a Rider. It just went against his beliefs.
"Well…I have poor people skills," Ryuji confessed. He just couldn't work with people that well.
"Same here," Ranma agreed, knowing what that was like. "So, how much do you get paid?"
"Oh, Ryuji gets paid a lot. Imagin have an A-Class Bounty Rating," answered Loki.
"A-Class…" Ranma began.
"Bounty Rating?" finished Tenma.
"A-Class bounties are usually put on certain individuals who are universal threats or threats to the time stream," Ryuji clarified. "Imagin are under that category and for each one I kill I get around…100,000 or more. It all depends on how much of a threat they are."
"But Ryuji would've done it for free anyway because he wants to protect the woman he loves," Loki added cheerfully making Kotonoha and Ryuji blush.
"Urusei," Ryuji ordered. But Loki was right. He would've done it for free anyway. The pay was just a bonus. Kotonoha's safety was all that mattered to him
"Wow," Ranma blinked. "I'm lucky to have 1,000 yen in my pocket at any given time since Nabiki cons me out of it or Pop steals it."
"Yeah, the other you mention how they liked to do that," Ryuji nodded. "So, how did you get roped into this job?"
"Well, a lady named Hana who lives on my train dropped the Rider Pass where I picked it up," Ranma explained. "Turns out I'm a singularity point."
"So in other words your luck stayed true?" Ryuji smirked. "Man, and I thought my luck sucked."
"Well, I got to meet my friends so I can't complain too much," Ranma snickered.
"Ah, I knew you cared Ranma-kun," Urataros grinned.
"I like you too, Nii-chan!" Ryutaros laughed happily.
"And how are you a Rider to begin with?" asked Tenma. He had learnt from his father about doing good for the sake of it, not for rewards.
Ryuji sighed, "It was in the agreement. If I wanted to stay here I had to accept. Equivalent exchange, you see. I get to be with Koto-chan and all I need to do is to kill some rogue Imagin. Everybody wins."
Sand suddenly began to spill out of Kotonoha's body before reforming into Athena. "Athena!" Kotonoha gasped at her Imagin's sudden appearance.
"I overheard about the arrival of some new Riders so I wanted to check it out, Lady Kotonoha." Athena looked over at Ranma and Tenma before snorting, obviously unimpressed. "Not much to look at." She didn't think too highly of males and only a few deserved her respect like Ryuji for example.
"Oi!" Momotaros snapped, getting to his feet. "Who do you think you are?"
"I am an Amazon," Athena frowned. "You will show me respect."
"I don't bow down to you!" Momotaros retorted. "I don't bow down to anyone!"
Ranma rubbed his temples as he heard the argument. Momotaros was as confrontational as ever. He didn't mind that though. He was used to it. Picking fights was something he would rather do without, but it came with the territory. Still, it was this female Imagin's tone of voice that ticked him off. It reminded him of some of the people he met who figured they deserved respect just because of their birth or position. Ranma hated people like that.
"That's enough!" Tenma called catching Athena and Momotaros' attention. "Look, we're not here to fight. Momo-nii, we're guests here remember? And Athena, or whoever you are, please try not to pick fights with us because we are all still jumpy about fighting Gaoh and we're liable to put the beat down on anyone that is looking for a brawl. So PLEASE don't test us right now."
Athena stared down the new Rider. He was a simple and insignificant male in her view, but something in his voice screamed of battle. As she listened to the other Imagin in the room mutter and chat, she realized that they all had it. Apparently they were well-versed in fighting. In that case, she would hold her tongue for a moment.
"Candy?" Deneb offered Athena a lollipop.
"Sure," she nodded, accepting the gift.
Sekai was wiping some tables for her shift at the Radish. Things have been pretty slow lately and she was having some time to think. Usually her thoughts drifted to things she liked to think about; school, friends, Makoto. Lately though, she was finding herself a little envious of her friend Kotonoha.
The soft spoken girl had probably one of the most violent people she had ever seen as a boyfriend. Still, it was obvious that he would go through hell and high water to make sure she was happy. The big pieces of jewellery he had spoiled her with were a pretty big sign. Seeing how Ryuji treated Kotonoha, Sekai couldn't help but wish that Makoto would treat her like that every once in a while.
As she continued with her duties, Sekai didn't notice a glowing yellow orb slip through an open window.
When Kokoro came home from visiting her friend, Uzuki, who had a cold, she was surprised to see her sister and boyfriend along with two new boys and five new Imagin she'd never seen before. The little girl soon got to know them. She liked how Deneb gave her candy and how Urataros told her how cute she was. Kintaros was funny for falling asleep a lot while Ryutaros would play with her. Momotaros reminded her a bit of her Ryuji-niichan.
Eros showed himself as well, introducing himself politely to the Imagin. Momotaros had laughed when Eros introduced himself as the Cupid Imagin and got a kick in the shin from Kokoro.
"Onee-chan," giggled Kokoro. "Looks like you've made a lot of new and interesting friends."
"Hai," Kotonoha agreed. It seemed she had and all because of Ryuji. Even with the unpredictable chaos that would follow, she would never give it up for the world. Thanks to Ryuji, she was no longer lonely.
Ryuji and Ranma, meanwhile, were arguing and bragging about their respective time trains while Tenma watched the exchange with an exasperated expression.
"My DynoLiner is way cooler than your DenLiner!" Ryuji argued.
"So it has some dinosaur faces. Big deal," Ranma huffed. "My DenLiner has six extra cars! You've only got the three DynoLiner cars."
"I don't need more cars!" Ryuji retorted. "My DynoLiner kicks so much ass I don't need extra help!"
"I hope you can back that claim up then!" Ranma smirked.
"You bet I can!" Ryuji snorted.
"Okay," Ranma nodded. "If the next Imagin that shows up turns into a Gigandeath, we can see just how tough this DynoLiner of yours can be."
Before Ryuji could make another rebuttal, his watch beeped. Ranma blinked. "What is that?"
"My next pay check," grinned Ryuji as he activated the compass mode. Tenma knew what Ryuji meant.
"Imagin," the Saotome from the future realized.
"Yeah, and this time it's mine!" Ryuji proclaimed. "Loki, let's go!"
"Right," obeyed Loki before he turned into energy and entered Ryuji. The School Days world's Rider then dashed towards the door.
A jewellery store was being robbed. Such an occurrence wouldn't be out of the ordinary. Heck, it would be normal if the robbers were wearing costumes. Of course, the robber wasn't wearing a costume. He wasn't even human.
"Now, these jewels are mine!" the Robin Imagin proclaimed. It wore a green tunic with black markings on its chest, baggy brown pants and matching leather boots that came up to its knees. It also wore a feather in its hat and a quiver of arrows. Strapped to its right forearm was a crossbow. He looked exactly like Robin Hood, except for the fact it had a bird's face.
"Freeze!" a human voice shouted.
Blinking, the Robin Imagin turned to face the owner of the voice. It spotted a police officer that was aiming a gun at it. Snorting, the Robin Imagin put the jewels in a pouch. It then gabbed an arrow and loaded it into its crossbow.
"Drop the weapon!" the officer shouted.
"Not bloody likely," the Robin Imagin laughed as it drew the projectile back.
The officer fired his gun just as the Imagin fired its arrow. Both projectiles flew through the air. Both bullet and arrow met up in the middle of the room, but the arrow actually cut through the bullet and continued flying. The arrow struck the officer's gun and knocked it out of his hands. The police officer was stunned and could only watch as the Robin Imagin loaded another arrow.
"Next one goes between the eyes," the Robin Imagin said while aiming. It then let an arrow fly at the officer. Time seemed to stand still as the arrow soared through the air and towards the officer.
The arrow didn't connect with its target, however, when it was snatched out of midair by none other than Ranma Saotome. "Granting a wish, I suppose," said Ranma.
"Who the hell are you?" the Robin Imagin shouted. Meanwhile, Tenma and Ryuji were helping any stragglers to get to safety. Ryuji was also helping the officer out who was still stunned by his near brush with death.
"You picked the wrong day to pull this," Ranma spoke as he drew his Den-O belt. Ryuji and Tenma were quick to follow as they met up with their fellow Rider.
All three of them wrapped their belts around their waists. Ryuji pressed the top button of his belt as Tenma drew his card while Ranma pressed the purple button on his own belt.
"Henshin!" all three young men called as their activated their belts.
"IFRIT FORM!"
"ALTAIR FORM!"
"GUN FORM!"
Kotonoha, Kokoro, and the remaining Imagin were all watching TV when all of a sudden there was a news flash.
"Today, the Shining Star Jewellery Store was attacked by what looks like a bird dressed as Robin Hood," the female news anchor said. "One of our reporters is at the scene now."
Kotonoha knew an Imagin was definitely responsible as the screen showed them what was going on live at the scene.
"It appears that the creature is one of those monsters that has been appearing lately and-" before the male reporter could finish, the camera darted towards the store and captured the three Riders on film. The reporter continued, "And it appears the Kamen Riders have once again showed up to deal with this menace! Still, the two with Ifrit look new, which is not surprising as new Riders seem to be popping out of nowhere. Just where are they coming from?"
Kotonoha knew, but she wasn't telling.
"Go, Ryuji-niichan!" cheered Kokoro. "Fight!"
Ifrit used his sword to deflect the arrow coming at him before shooting with his gun, hitting the Imagin dead centre in the chest. Zeronos AF was also slashing away at the Imagin and forced it to dodge. While both the black and green Riders were working together well, the purple one wasn't exactly doing so well in terms of cooperation.
Den-O GF was shooting at the Imagin with his gun erratically and when he missed destroyed a good portion of the store and nearly hit Ifrit and Zeronos AF who were trying to beat their opponent.
"Hey, asshole!" shouted Ifrit at Den-O GF. "Watch where you're aiming that thing!"
Den-O GF, being controlled by Ryutaros, wasn't exactly listening, and just laughed as he shot at the Robin Imagin again and again, bombarding it with shots and not giving it a chance to reload its weapon or even fight back. Growling, Ifrit tried to fight while making sure he wouldn't get hit by Den-O GF's gun.
"Get out of my way!" the Robin Imagin growled before he leaped over the two Riders.
"Get back here!" Ifrit roared as he gave chase.
"Hold on!" Zeronos AF called as he followed the black Rider.
"Boom boom!" Den-O GF laughed as he continued to fire at the fleeing Imagin.
Several of the stray shots missed and almost hit Zeronos and Ifrit again. Both Riders had to roll out of the way while their purple comrade continued to fire wildly. Cursing, Ifrit followed the Robin Imagin around a corner. Sadly, it had already vanished from sight.
"KUSO!" he roared. Turning to Den-O GF, he started turning on him. "This is all your fault!"
"Huh?" Den-O GF blinked.
"If your aim didn't suck so badly we would have gotten him!" Ifrit snapped.
"My aim doesn't suck!" Den-O GF whined. "He just moved too fast!"
"Excuses, excuses," snorted Ifrit. "Now let's get out of here and get back!" He was feeling really peeved right now.
Makoto was pinned against the wall by the Robin Imagin who'd broken into his home. "W-What d-do y-you want?" stammered Makoto. The Imagin dropped the pouch at Makoto's feet.
"Give these to Sekai Saionji," explained the Imagin before he jumped out the window. Makoto slumped onto his knees and picked up the pouch before looking inside. He gawked at the amount of jewellery inside and then recalled the news flash.
"Oh…crap."
Upon returning to Kotonoha's home, Ryuji and Ranma weren't in the best of moods and were glaring at one another.
"Control that Imagin of yours better," stated Ryuji coldly.
"Hey! Ryutaros isn't some slave or pet!" Ranma snapped. "He's my friend and I can't tell him what to do!"
"Then why keep him?" asked Ryuji incredulously.
"Because he's my friend!" Ranma snapped. "Though with your attitude I'd be surprised if you knew what friends were!"
"Why you-!" Ryuji growled.
"ENOUGH!" Kotonoha suddenly cried loudly. Seeing that all attention was on her, she took a calming breath. "Good. Now Ryuji-kun, I know you're upset with losing the Imagin. That isn't an excuse to lose your temper with Ranma-san or Ryutaros-san."
"Ha!" Ryutaros laughed.
"And you, Ryutaros-san, need to learn how to work better with others," Kotonoha continued. "You have to be careful or else you might hurt someone you don't intend to."
"…okay," Ryutaros sulked.
"Ah, and Kotonoha-chan shows her wisdom," Urataros commented. "It is a shame that you have already been taken."
"Oi! Watch it ero-kame!" Ryuji frowned.
"Ah ha ha ha ha!" Momotaros laughed at Urataros' shocked expression. "That's a good name for you, Kame!"
"Maybe a change of scenery would be better," said Eros.
"I agree," nodded Kotonoha. "How about we all go to Radish?"
Tenma gulped and glanced at his future father. Could he handle it? "Maybe I should bring Ranko too."
"Ranko?" Ryuji asked.
"My little sister."
Kotonoha, Ryuji, Kokoro, Tenma, Ranma and Ranko all entered the restaurant with Ranko holding her future father's hand, smiling wide. After being promised ice cream, she immediately jumped to the chance but then again Ranko would take any chance to spend time with her family.
Ranma's eyes, however, were on the scantily clad waitresses. A blush was forming on his cheeks.
"Welcome to the Radish!" greeted Sekai. "Hey, Kotonoha-san!"
"Good to see you, Sekai-san," smiled Kotonoha. It was her day off today and she thought it might be a good day to come with her new friends and her boyfriend.
"Got an empty spot for us?" said Ryuji.
"Follow me," Sekai instructed. "I'll show you to your table." Sekai turned to lead them and her hips swayed. That short skirt wasn't making it any easier for one pigtailed martial artist.
"Breathe, Pop. Breathe," Tenma coaxed his future father
"Reminds me of a place the old perv tricked me into going to once," Ranma grumbled. As the group was led to their table, Ranma attempted to make sure his eyes didn't travel anywhere they shouldn't. Knowing his luck, some mallet-happy tomboy would smash something over his head.
After they got seated (Ranko sat in Ranma's lap by the way), the group made their orders. Ranma decided to order something small since he didn't want to show off his usual table manners. It wasn't like anyone was going to steal his food here.
"So, Tenma," Ryuji decided to speak. "How did you know Koto-chan anyway?"
"Uh…" Tenma suddenly gulped. "You see….uh, in our timeline this world is part of a video game called School Days."
"Really?" Kotonoha gasped. "So that's why you knew me. You've seen me before in the game."
"So what is it about?" Ryuji frowned. He could guess, but he wanted to hear it himself.
"Well," Tenma gulped. This was going to turn out bad if he didn't word it properly. "It's a dating sim. You play as Makoto Itou and try to score with a girl of your choice."
"Nani?" Ryuji gaped. He started frowning. "So which girls do you usually go for?"
"Why does it matter?" Tenma asked, slightly nervous.
"Call me curious," Ryuji frowned.
"Well, I usually go for um….Otome….and…"
"And?" Ryuji pressed.
"…Kotonoha," Tenma muttered quietly.
The temperature in the restaurant fell several degrees after Tenma answered. People were shivering and others were sneezing. Some were starting to complain about the air conditioner being too cold.
"What?" Ryuji growled, his eyes narrowed.
Tenma was starting to sweat despite the cold temperature. This was definitely the glare of an overprotective and jealous boyfriend.
"Now, hold on!" Tenma cried. "It's just a game! I'm not the kind of guy who steals another guy's girlfriend! Honest!"
"Yeah, that's Urataros," Ranma sighed.
'That hurt, Ranma-kun,' Urataros sighed in Ranma's mind.
"Fine," Ryuji snorted. "But I want to take a look at this game."
"I…wouldn't advise that," Tenma gulped.
"Oh yeah?" Ryuji frowned. "Why not?"
"Because…there are…bad things that happens to the characters," Tenma gulped. "You'd hate it. It would piss you off."
"Like what?" Ryuji asked.
"Well… Sekai kills Makoto and Kotonoha kills Sekai," Tenma answered, making Kotonoha gasp. "Kotonoha kills herself, Sekai kills Kotonoha. Hell, Makoto once got them both pregnant and they decided to share him."
"That's it!" Ryuji snapped. "Now I have to see just what the hell this game is about! It sounds like the freaking anime!"
"Anime?" asked Ranma.
Before the conversation could continue further, Makoto could be seen entering the restaurant. He didn't look all too well. In fact he looked panicked. He walked over to Sekai and grabbed her arm and whispered something to her. Ryuji's eyes narrowed as he saw the vaguely familiar pouch clutched in Makoto's hand. The two then went to the back room where they could speak in private.
In the back room, Makoto reached into the pouch and pulled out a beautiful and stunning diamond necklace. Sekai gasped as she gazed at the item. "Makoto! It's lovely!" She took it into her hands to admire it closer. "How did you afford it?"
"You could say it was…" he picked his words right. "A steal." He then handed the pouch to her. "There's more of it inside." As Sekai looked through the pouch, someone decided to speak.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" questioned Ryuji as he leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. His eyes were on the pouch and on the guilt painted on Makoto's face.
Back inside the dining area, a blue haze of energy suddenly entered Ranma.
"Papa?" asked Ranko.
"Mind if I string you along?" Ranma Blue asked with a suave smirk. His hair was slicked to the side with a blue streak in it. A pair of oval glasses was worn over his bright blue eyes.
"Hi, Ura-nii!" Ranko smiled brightly.
"Hello to you too, Ranko-chan," Ranma Blue smiled. He started looking around the Radish and eyed all of the pretty waitresses in their uniforms. "My, my, such a bountiful pond I have found myself in. To come without fishing would be a crime."
"Ranma-san?" asked Kotonoha as she watched Ranma Blue stand up and stroll towards the bar with the waitress attending it.
"That would be Ura-nii," Tenma sighed. "He can't go anywhere without flirting with a pretty girl. Let him have his fun."
Ryuji never let up his glare and walked towards Makoto before staring him straight in the eye. "OK, Itou, tell me where you got that pouch."
"I f-found it," stuttered Makoto as Ryuji's cold blue eyes bore into his own.
"Bullshit," Ryuji gripped his fist. "You must've been stupid enough to ask for a wish from one of those monsters again." He eyed Makoto intensely but then his eyes went to Sekai as he witnessed the sand pooling at her feet. "Masaka. Saionji?"
"Your boyfriend is sure taking his time in the bathroom," said Tenma.
"I know," she agreed, checking her watch.
Setsuna was also sitting at the bar counter. In front of her was a notebook and she was currently writing things down, basically things she was observing. One of those things was the guy that had come with Ryuji and the others flirting with the waitresses and actually succeeding.
"Saionji, did you happen to make a wish recently?" asked Ryuji. He knew the signs of when someone made a contract with an Imagin. The sand coming off someone was a tell-tale sign. "Come on, remember."
"What are you talking about?" Sekai asked.
"That necklace and all that jewellery in that pouch," Ryuji clarified. "Where did it come from."
"Makoto gave them to me."
"And where, Itou, did you get them?" he demanded.
Makoto was scared. That monster had threatened him so he wouldn't blab but currently Ryuji was looking scarier. Immediately, under Ryuji's scrutiny, Makoto confessed, "Some thing dressed up like Robin Hood!" Sekai gasped.
Ryuji gaze returned to Sekai, "I guess that sounds familiar to you, right?" She nodded. "So, did you ask for something?"
"I kinda wanted Makoto to be more romantic," she answered, "Kinda like how you're always so romantic with Kotonoha-san."
Ryuji gave her a hard stare for a second before turning his back to her. "Thanks," said Ryuji. "Oh, and Itou, grow a backbone." He then walked out of the back room. He had an idea where the Imagin would strike next.
The waitresses surrounding Ranma Blue swooned and giggled, forgetting what they were supposed to do. Ryuji came out to see this and quirked an eyebrow before snorting in disgust. Ranma wasn't earning his respect if he would allow his Imagin to take control like that. He walked over to where Tenma was sitting and the green Rider jumped a bit when he saw Ryuji.
It was a good thing Tenma hadn't mentioned the sex scenes. If the death scenes caused Ryuji to react with such hostility, imagine what would happen when he found out about the sex scenes, especially the ones involving Kotonoha.
"I found a lead on that Imagin that got away. Let's go," said Ryuji.
"What about…?" Tenma began.
"Let him flirt with the girls. So, are you in or out?"
"I'm in, I'm in," Tenma agreed. He then turned to Kotonoha. "Um, could you watch Ranko while we're gone?"
"Of course," Kotonoha nodded. "She and Kokoro seem to be getting along very well."
"Thanks," Tenma smiled. "Let's go!"
"Ikuzo!" Ryuji snapped.
As the two boys made a dash for the exit, Ranma Blue took notice of them. Sighing regretfully, he turned his attention to the giggling waitresses, "My apologies ladies, but I fear I will have to go. I shall return though."
Leaving the disappointed waitresses behind, Ranma Blue followed his fellow Riders out of the door. Setsuna watched him leave before finishing her drink. Closing her notebook, she followed the three young men.
The Robin Imagin was just leaving the candy store with a huge sack containing stolen chocolates. "This will definitely complete the contract," it snickered.
"That's far enough for you," said Ryuji as he and Tenma stood in its way.
"Damn it," cursed the Robin Imagin. "Not you again."
"That's right, creep," smirked Tenma. "Now we're going to finish you right off."
"Try me," the Imagin challenged.
Tenma and Ryuji slung their belts around their waists before fastening them on. As Ryuji took out his pass and pressed the top button on his belt buckle, Tenma was pushing on the switch of his own belt.
Ryuji called, "Henshin!" as he slid in the pass.
"Henshin!" Tenma called as he slid in the card.
"IFRIT FORM!"
"ALTAIR FORM!"
Kotonoha wasn't sure what it was, but she was having this strange urge to get up and go find Ryuji. He could be in danger while she was here, safe and sound. She should be there cheering him on. Standing up, she said to Kokoro, "Kokoro-chan, watch Ranko-chan for me, OK?"
"Where are you going, Onee-chan?" asked Kokoro curiously as she watched her sister leave without another world.
The Imagin was definitely deadlier now since its crossbow would automatically reload itself. Still, its arrows would still vanish from the quiver so it would run out of ammo, right? Unfortunately, such an assessment was inaccurate as the Robin Imagin's arrows were limitless.
Zeronos AF and Ifrit were both deflecting arrows with their weapons. The projectiles were keeping them from getting close to the Imagin and this just made Ifrit madder than he already was. That wasn't really a good thing, for anyone.
"This is going to be the last fight!" the Robin Imagin laughed.
"Oh? I would disagree with that," a new voice called.
The Robin Imagin blinked and turned around. He didn't get to see much before a foot collided with his face. Crying in pain, the Robin Imagin stumbled back. Looking up, it saw the smirking face of Ranma Blue. The Den-O belt was wrapped around his waist and the centre of the belt buckle was blue. The Rider Pass was also in his hand.
"Henshin," he smiled as he swiped the pass over the belt buckle.
"ROD FORM!"
The armor formed over Ranma Blue's body and then changed into the Rod Form configuration. Once it was done, Den-O RF said, "Mind if I string you along?" He then ran forward and performed a roundhouse kick that caught the Imagin in the midsection and caused it to stagger back and drop its sack, spilling the goods. "Stealing candy this time, I see," noted Den-O RF.
"Damn you!" the Robin Imagin roared and fired. His arrows were knocked away by Den-O RF's DenGasher in Rod Mode. He twirled the staff around and used it like a shield to deflect all the arrows.
"My turn," said Den-O RF once the hailstorm of arrows ended and he charged ahead. He thrust with his rod, which the Robin Imagin dodged. It seemed to have forgotten something important, though.
WHAM!
The Imagin was sent flying by Ifrit's fist and it crashed into the wall before landing flat on its face.
"Don't forget about us, teme," said Ifrit as he cracked his knuckles. Zeronos AF stood at his side. The green Rider then drew out his card, and flipped it over to reveal a yellow side. He flipped the switch of his belt, causing it to release a different tune.
"Deneb, let's go!" commanded Zeronos AF as Deneb exited from his body and stood behind him.
"Roger!" Deneb answered, saluting with both hands. Zeronos AF then slid the card inside his belt.
"VEGA FORM!"
Ifrit even swiped Loki's ticket over his belt.
"LOKI FORM!"
All Kotonoha needed to do was to listen for the sound of a battle taking place to find the Riders. It didn't take her long before she found the three Riders. Though Den-O and Zeronos looked different now, she could still recognise them from their belts. Even her boyfriend had entered his stronger Loki Form to use.
The Robin Imagin was being struck relentlessly by the three Riders. Zeronos VF and Ifrit LF (Loki Form)'s blades struck it violently, causing sparks to fly off. Den-O RF was even using his rod strikes along with powerful kicks.
Aiming his crossbow at one of the Riders, it fired but it just sailed harmlessly past them.
"Hah, you missed!" taunted Ifrit LF.
"Ryuji-kun!" Kotonoha cried as she watched the Robin Imagin's trick arrow turn around in the sky and head for her boyfriend's back. Before she could think, she was moving.
THIUNK!
"Unnn!" Kotonoha moaned in pain as she felt the arrow sink into her shoulder. Stumbling slightly, she fell on her side. It was then visible that the arrow had gone clean through her shoulder.
The Loki Slicer slip from Ifrit's hand and dropped to the ground as he saw the sight. "Koto…chan?" Ifrit uttered as he saw his girlfriend lying on the ground, motionless, after taking an arrow for him. Her blood was starting to stain the spot. His armor vanished. His eyes were wide and his pupils were dilated. His hands quivered as his entire body trembled.
Then, he screamed as blue flames engulfed his entire body.
Ryuji never knew how his change into an Orphenoch worked. It always happened so fast and he was always in control. But, there was also a trigger: his anger. Ryuji was always angry about something but he always kept his anger at a manageable level or else his powers would react. He didn't want to cause the next ice age or something.
The change could only be described as agonizing.
His body hunched over as grey armor plating began to cover his entire body with white fur coming out of the gaps. His hair began to lengthen and became thicker before turning white. A pair of long horns extended from his forehead as his face lengthened into a muzzle. Spikes jutted out from his forearms and shoulders. His teeth became sharp with fangs on the top and bottom jaws. His fingernails became black and sharpened into claws. The same was also happening to his toenails. His bones restructured as his legs became double jointed and he seemed more beast than human. He went down on all fours and snarled.
The strange part was that even if he transformed his clothes would still remain intact once he reverted.
The temperature had gone down several degrees at the appearance of the creature known as the Ifrit Orphenoch. He was a brutal and fatal fighter in this form, ruthless and lacking in mercy. That was why Ryuji tried so hard to NEVER turn into this beast. As much as he liked the power that went with it, the lack of control when he was mad was not worth it.
The Ifrit Orphenoch lunged forward at the Robin Imagin who'd shot the arrow and the monster never saw him coming. The Ifrit Orphenoch slashed it across the face, causing the Orphenoch to scream in pain. The Ifrit Orphenoch then turned back around to slash at the Imagin again and then he pounced upon the Imagin and began slashing at it savagely. The Imagin tried to defend itself but couldn't as the Ifrit Orphenoch continued to slash and bite at it. Sand poured out from the Imagin's wounds. The Robin Imagin shouted in agony as the Ifrit Orphenoch violently tore it apart limb from limb. Finally, he bit down on the Imagin's throat and ripped it open. The Imagin's body then dissolved into sand as a result from the killing blow.
Zeronos VF and Den-O RF were stunned by their fellow Rider's sudden change and brutality. Also, Kotonoha was hurt and losing blood. Zeronos VF ran over to help Kotonoha when all of a sudden the Ifrit Orphenoch leapt in his way and swiped at him with his claws. The Ifrit Orphenoch was on all fours, growling at Zeronos VF.
"Please, let us help her," said Zeronos VF but the Ifrit Orphenoch wasn't going to let just anyone near his mate. Ifrit Orphenoch roared as it stood over Kotonoha's body protectively, while licking her face once in a while.
"Reminds me of the Neko-ken," said Den-O RF as he watched the Ifrit Orphenoch's behaviour.
'Urataros, we need to help get Kotonoha to a hospital!' shouted Ranma.
"I agree, Ranma-kun, but right now there's an obstacle."
'Then it's time for some reinforcements,' said Ranma. Den-O RF's finger pressed the yellow button before swiping the pass over the belt.
"AXE FORM!"
Zeronos VF was shoved to the ground when the Ifrit Orphenoch had pounced him before trying to bite his head off. Instead, the Orphenoch bit down on the ZeroGasher which the Rider was using to hold the Ifrit Orphenoch back. The blade was being crushed between the jaws but then the Orphenoch felt someone pulling him up by the scruff of his neck and tossing him aside. The Ifrit Orphenoch landed on his feet and growled at who'd dared to interfere.
Popping his neck, Den-O AF spoke, "My strength will make you cry!" He then said to Zeronos VF, "You, get the girl to safety."
'Do as he says, Deneb,' commanded Tenma.
"Roger!" nodded Zeronos VF. He ran to Kotonoha's prone body and lifted her up bridal style. She was groaning in pain from the injury. "Don't worry. We'll get you there soon."
The Ifrit Orphenoch, seeing this, roared made a lunge for Zeronos VF for touching his mate but was held off by Den-O AF. "I am your opponent, and until you defeat me you shall not pass!" Roaring, the Ifrit Orphenoch roared and blasted Den-O AF with blue flames that were incredibly hot. The gold Rider stumbled back from the assault.
Still unsatisfied, the Ifrit Orphenoch struck with his forearm spikes, slashing Den-O AF across the chest. He then started to leao all around Den-O AF, striking at the Rider with claw and spike strikes.
Den-O AF rolled away from the attacking Orphenoch, aiming to get some breathing space. His opponent was indeed mighty. Perhaps that was the power of love that some people liked to talk about.
'I'm getting tired of being thrown around!' Momotaros' voice raged from within Den-O AF's mind.
In flashes of red, blue, and purple, Momotaros, Urataros, and Ryutaros emerged to take part in the fight.
"Oooh! Mean kitty!" Ryutaros chided.
"He is just worried about Kotonoha-chan," Urataros commented.
"Well, he picked a fight with us!" Momotaros snapped. "He's gonna get his ass kicked for that!"
A golden aura surrounded the Ifrit Orphenoch. This was the Mythical Ki he carried within. With a roar, he unleashed the full power of the destructive Mythical Ki.
Using the ZeroLiner, Tenma managed to get Kotonoha to a hospital in time. He'd carried her inside the lobby, shouting for help, and immediately got it. Right now, he was in the waiting room.
What had happened to Ryuji? That was what Tenma was wondering. He'd just turned into a monster. Just what was he?
The door to the hospital slid open and Tenma could see Ranma with his arm around Ryuji's back and Ryuji's arm over his shoulder, supporting him. Both looked worse for wear.
"Hey, Pop," said Tenma as he stood up and walked over. "What happened to you?"
"Long story, but we better sit him down somewhere," said Ranma. Tenma helped his future father carry their comrade to an empty seat and set him down.
Ryuji's eyes were lifeless and he appeared unresponsive. His fists were clenching and unclenching. Obviously, he was worried about Kotonoha.
A couple of hours later, a nurse came over to Tenma. She asked, "Were you the one who brought the girl with that arrow in her shoulder in here?" Ryuji looked up.
"Yes," nodded Tenma. "How is she?"
"Oh, she's doing fine," the nurse said. "She just needed to have the arrow removed. Luckily she didn't lose much blood and all she needed were some stitches."
"Can you tell me where she is?" asked Tenma.
"Oh, she's in room 209," the nurse said. "Do you wish to see her?"
"Yeah," Tenma nodded.
"You're a pretty dedicated boyfriend to bring her here like that," the nurse said.
Tenma denied, "No, I'm not her boyfriend. Her boyfriend is right…here?"
But Ryuji was gone.
"I'm fine now, really. The arrow didn't hit anything important. After I got stitched up I was good as new," Kotonoha assured Ryuji as he knelt down with his head down and his hands clasping Kotonoha's right one. She reached over and stroked his hair gently.
"Thank goodness," he said, relieved. He'd almost lost her. "I'm so sorry. I should've been protecting you better."
Kotonoha frowned. She wasn't going to let her boyfriend take all the guilt. "Ryuji-kun, look at me," she said. He still wouldn't look at her. She repeated, "Ryuji-kun, look at me." She then insisted, "I said look at me, please." He then looked up at her. "It's not your fault. It was that Imagin's fault."
Tenma and Ranma could see what was happening through the window on the door. Both Riders were sympathetic.
"Still, I promised to protect you and I failed," said Ryuji. "I'm an awful boyfriend."
"Don't say that," Kotonoha told him. "Like I said this isn't your fault."
"But-"
"Not another word."
Sighing, Ryuji stood up. "OK. I'll let you get some rest." He then walked to the door and exited the room.
Outside, Ryuji slammed his fist against the wall and cried. "Damn it."
"You know, it isn't really manly to cry," said Ranma. Ryuji turned to glare at him.
"I'm not in the mood, Saotome," growled Ryuji.
"Hey, I just came to talk and maybe listen. I really want to know what happened back there," said Ranma.
"I lost control," Ryuji answered simply.
"I get that but what was that?" Ranma asked, referring to the Ifrit Orphenoch.
Ryuji turned and leaned against the wall. He looked Ranma in the eye. "OK, I'll give you the abridged version: I'm an Orphenoch, a human that rose from the dead because of a special gene we have. As a result, we become stronger, faster and gain sharper senses, but also at a cost." He paused, "Our DNA is unstable and eventually we break down. I'm one of the lucky ones so I'm still alive."
"Woah," Ranma blinked. And he thought Imagin were weird. Rising from the dead? Only Saffron had done so.
"Well, I hate it," confessed Ryuji. "That…thing I turn into just reminds me that I'm not human. It reminds me that I'm just an evil monster. A freak"
Ranma sighed, "Ryuji, you're not a monster nor are you evil as far as I can see."
"You don't know anything about me," Ryuji shot back with a glare.
"But I do know enough to say that you're neither a monster nor evil. You just got angry and lost control," Ranma said. "Trust me, I know what it's like to lose control."
"The Neko-ken, right? The other you mentioned that," said Ryuji.
"Yeah, and as for being a freak, take a look at me." Ranma pointed to himself, "Half the time I'm a girl!"
Ryuji had to admit Ranma had a point but he wasn't going to admit it. Ranma was also showing some surprising amount of insight.
"But even if we have a bunch of stuff in common, you have something I don't," said Ranma.
"Rugged good looks?" joked Ryuji. Ranma frowned.
"Glad you didn't lose your sense of humour, but no." Ranma pointed to the door. "You got her, a girl that loves you and doesn't see you as anything else than who you are. That's what got me feeling a bit jealous." Ranma finished, "And that girl needs you right now just like you need her, and you know that, don't you?"
Ryuji didn't answer. Instead, he walked towards the door and pushed it open before walking inside.
"KOTONOHA!" a new voice cried loudly.
"Huh?" Ranma blinked while he turned to the source of the disturbance. It turned out to be a bunch of teens with some of them he recognized. Tenma, however, recognised them all from the School Days game he played.
"Hey, you're all friends of Kotonoha?" asked Ranma, stopping the group.
"Yes!" the lead girl nodded rapidly. Ranma recognized her as the one waitress Urataros hadn't been able to flirt with in the restaurant. "I got a call about what happened to her! Is she okay?" Sekai was feeling really worried and guilty. She knew this had something to do with the wish she'd made with the Robin Imagin.
"She's fine," Ranma answered. "She's just having a moment with Ryuji. I suggest not interrupting them."
Taisuke seemed to agree with this, albeit a little fearfully. He knew very well not to interrupt any tender moments Ryuji and Kotonoha were sharing.
Meanwhile, inside, both Kotonoha and Ryuji were locked in a deep and passionate kiss before they touched their foreheads and noses together, just gazing into each other's eyes lovingly.
Setsuna had seen a lot of weird things since she'd seen the Riders for herself but nothing prepared her for what she'd seen. Ryuji…wasn't human. How could that be? That just cemented her theory that he could be an alien in human disguise but he acted more like an animal than anything else. Almost like a monster.
Luckily, that other Rider, along with his monster partners, had been able to subdue Ryuji and bring him to his senses. Still, after what she'd seen, she wondered about the truth behind the Riders.
When she'd witnessed Kotonoha taking an arrow for Ifrit/Ryuji, she knew how far that girl would go to protect the one she loved. It would seem that Ryuji's change had been triggered by Kotonoha getting herself hurt. Such a thing must've pushed his anger to the breaking point. She could tell from the way he'd torn that other creature apart. She had to be careful and not make Ryuji angry…well, angrier.
When she did some more research, she discovered that Ryuji had turned into that same creature several months ago but it'd been explained to be caused by one of those monsters possessing him. Now, Setsuna knew that was a lie. She knew the truth about Ryuji.
But what was she going to do with such information?
A couple of days later, Tenma and Ranma were heading back to their timeline. While they had all the time in the universe because of their trains, they didn't want to slack off. Besides, Ranma had been gone most of the day before he left to fight Gaoh. His family was probably thinking he ran off with one of the other fiancées.
"Too bad we couldn't see whose train was better," Ryuji snickered.
"Next time," Ranma grinned, "Next time we'll see."
Tenma sighed. "Pop, we gotta get going."
"Bye bye Kokoro-chan!" Ranko smiled as she hugged Kotonoha's little sister. "I hope to see you again!"
"Me too!" Kokoro smiled.
"It was nice having you all here," Kotonoha smiled. "I'm sorry to see you all leave so soon."
"Hey, the food was good and so was the company," Ranma shrugged. "I'm happy enough to relax."
"GOOODBYE, FRIEND!" Loki sobbed.
"FAREWELL!" Deneb cried equally.
Deneb and Loki were hugging and crying their goodbyes. They had gotten along marvellously and hated to say goodbye. Loki had taken up candy making while Deneb had gotten his cookie recipes a boost.
"Enough already!" Ryuji snapped. "It's not like we can't visit them!"
"But, Ryuji!" Loki whined. "It's always sad to say goodbye to a friend!"
"For the love of-!" Ryuji huffed.
Ranma and Tenma both laughed. The Rider from the future then decided to cut things short, "Well, we'd better get going though. Time waits for no one, not even us."
"True," Ryuji sighed.
With a final goodbye, Ranma, Tenma, and the crying Deneb vanished through a door to the Sands of Time. Ryuji sighed and turned to head to the kitchen for something to eat. As he was moving, his foot caught on something. Looking down, he found a plastic container for a computer game disc. His eyes widened when he saw his girlfriend and the other girls of School Days on the front cover.
"So this is that game huh?" Ryuji frowned as he looked it over. "Well, might as well see what freaked him out so much."
Later….
"I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL THAT PERV!"
ZK Chromedragozoid: I'd like to thank Shadow Element 13 for editing and Ten-Faced Paladin for lending me his characters.
GaroLiner Hunters Imagin list
Okami, the Fierce Black Wolf
Hot blooded, arrogant, and quick tempered, Okami the Wolf Imagin was the first Imagin to work with Kenzaki. He was originally the partner of Gou Tsukuba, the FIRST Garoh. When Gou was killed by the Multiversal serial killer Gog, he made his wish that Okami look after Kenzaki, establishing him as the second Garoh. He fights using a scimitar. When working with Kenzaki, he forms Hunter Form.
Introductory Line: "Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?"
Byakko, the Honorable White Tiger
Honorable and a martial artist, Byakko is obsessed with the basics of martial arts. He was saved by the original Garoh when ambushed by a large group of Imagin. Afterward, Byakko swore to serve Garoh. He met with Kenzaki when the now new Garoh was hunting down a bounty. He was given a solid body when Kenzaki wished for him to help save Neko. His main weapons are his fists and feet, but he is also armed with an axe. When working with Kenzaki, he forms Predator Form.
Introductory Line: "Remember the basics! My fists will crush your spirit!"
Raion, the Raging Golden Lion
An avid fan of rock music and prone to fits of blind rage when in combat, Raion is the youngest of Kenzaki's Imagin partners. He met Kenzaki at a rock concert to help fight an Imagin. He was given a solid body when Kenzaki wished for him to help save Neko. His main weapon is his naginata. When working with Kenzaki, he forms Rampage Form.
Introductory Line: "Let's turn up the volume! The music is just starting!"
Buraki, the Savage Crimson Imoogi
A ruthless and dishonest fighter, Buraki is the deadliest of Kenzaki's partners. Completely the opposite when out of battle, Buraki goofs off and is highly perverted, which constantly puts him at odds with the honorable Byakko. He accidentally possessed Kenzaki at the beach. He was given a solid body when Kenzaki wished for him to help save Neko. His main weapon is a flamethrower that takes the form of a shotgun, firing flame bullets. When working with Kenzaki, Buraki forms Savage Form.
Introductory Line: "Everything burns, let me light the fire."